Alabama Mountain Games: Quick Recap: Rockstars Rocked the House!

Well it wasn’t a question on what the most seen kayak was on the water, it was certainly the Jackson Rockstar at the Alabama Mountain Games this weekend. It was the choice for freestyle off the falls as well as the rodeo itself.

The weekend started on Friday with a “Huck” Fest off the falls. It was low water but that didn’t stop people from doing some crazy and at times… slightly stupid stuff. I am very impressed that all teeth stayed in tack as well as no serious injuries. We had several swims but the dropped was friendly as it was low. Some of the tricks involved mcnasties off the lip, people getting out of their boat at the lip and doing front flips off, double back flips and barrel rolls.

Afterwards we all paddled out on Short Creek and it was fun to run the river! With several manky slot type moves and a couple really fun boofs! Wish i had the zen for those but made it down safely and soundly!

That evening two bands rocked out- the first being a bit heavy metal for me but the following blue grass band was great, left my windows open in my van and fell asleep to some awesome music!

The next morning we headed to Kings Bend where the paddling spot wasn’t epic but the crowd and fun we were having was! The feature was incredibly tough but allowed us to get a lot of air to flush. Luckily with a last minute decision on judging, we developed a system that allowed people to go for more tricks and not have to worry about the flush factor as much. This gave people a chance to show how much air they could get. Big loops and space godzillas were thrown left and right, along with paddle spins, shudder rudders, and more. I was SO SO happy to be in my rockstar. it was a shallow feature so the length of the kayak allowed me to still throw my bow down hard to get the air i wanted. The swing weight allowed some of the bows to actually throw the boat around fast enough to stick several moves as well. I took first in the women’s and Nick took first in the Men’s. The Rockstar got top three in the Mens with Nick, Tommy Yon, and Dane.

Afterwards we headed upstream for some SUP action. It was so much fun. I ate it multiple times but the important thing was that the sun was shining, i was hot and swimming wasn’t a big deal! The gates were tricky and the mass start was asking for carnage. I delivered that personally!

Instead of driving back to Boogie Bottoms where the Bands were playing and the festival was being held. Haley Mills and I did the 5 mile SUP race down to the site and to be fully honest, i don’t think it was 5 miles. We paddled together so we could chat the entire way and not be paddling alone.

Once there i kicked back, enjoyed three more bands and celebrated saint patricks day with a  nice glass of wine and some serious people watching! Characters down there!

Dane and Nick participated in the Mountain Biking Race that evening and came back sweaty and dirty! They said it was a blast!

Awards were later as always at this event but luckily everyone was still there!

Dane won Mountain Man this year which means out of all the events he did he had the highest placings! His award was a hand carved wood sculpture. Very neat!

Congrats to all the competitors and Clay Wright for his belated Birthday! Look for the video update in JKTV coming to you the first Monday of April! Should have some awesome waterfall shots and carnage not to mention the air from the freestyle!!

Happy Paddling to All and 2012 Fun Tour – HERE WE COME!

Emily Jackson